Town dominated throughout, with Josh Koroma causing problems early on. He twice fired straight at goalkeeper Rafael in the opening 10 minutes.

Huddersfield thought they were ahead midway through the half. Royals left-back Andy Yiadom was booked for a foul on Thomas just outside the box, and Danel Sinani fired a thunderous left-footed free-kick back off the post which half the stadium thought had gone in.

A weak Junior Hoilett shot was all the visitors could muster before Town took the lead.

Midfielder O'Brien, who has been heavily linked with Leeds this summer, slotted the ball home five minutes before the break after terrific work from Thomas.

He chipped and chased over the Reading defence and, when the Royals failed to clear his bobbling cross, O'Brien was there to slot it home.

The Terriers almost doubled their lead at the start of the second half, as the lively Sinani burst clear but Rafael was off his line swiftly to smother his effort.

Six minutes after the break, the hosts made it 2-0 after a Town free-kick on the left was whipped in wonderfully from the right foot of Thomas and Pearson had the simplest of tasks to poke the ball home from close range.

Reading tried to respond and an off-balance Tom Dele-Bashiru shot just wide before the hosts ran riot.

The unplayable Thomas made it 3-0 with a fine solo goal, picking up the ball just inside his own half and tormenting the Reading defence before finding the bottom corner.

And – straight from the restart – Huddersfield tore through again, Koroma scampering clear down the left and picking out Ward, who had the composure to round Rafael and tap in.

With the Town fans finding their voice on a sun-drenched West Yorkshire afternoon, it became damage-limitation for Reading who were relieved to see no further addition to the score before the referee ended their misery.